Toulouse (pronounced in standard French language, in local Toulouse accent) (Occitan language: ''Tolosa'', pronounced ) is a commune of France in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With close to 1.1 million inhabitants in 2005, the Toulouse metropolitan area is the second largest in southern France and one of the fastest growing in Europe. It is the home base of the European aerospace industry, such as Alcatel Espace and EADS Space, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus. Toulouse was the capital of the former Provinces of France of Languedoc (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution). It is the capital of the Midi-Pyrnes ''Rgion in France'', the largest ''rgion'' in France although it encompasses only half of the former Languedoc province. It is also the ''prfecture'' (capital) of the Haute-Garonne ''dpartement''. It is the seat of the Acadmie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitania. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-founded Midi-Pyrnes ''rgion''.
==Population== The population of the city proper (French: ''Commune of France'') was 390,350 (as of the 1999 census), with 964,797 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (French: ''aire urbaine'') (as of 1999 census). As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city proper reached 426,700 inhabitants, which means a record 1.8% population growth per year between 1999 and 2004 for the city proper. Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon. In 1999 Toulouse was the fifth largest metropolitan area in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille. Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, record population growth of 1.5% a year in the metropolitan area (compared with a sluggish 0.37% for France as a whole) means Toulouse metropolitan area hit the 1,000,000 inhabitants mark in 2002 or 2003. Boasting the highest population growth of any European city of that size, Toulouse is well on its way to overtake Lille as the fourth largest metropolitan area of France. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" |+ Historical Population ! !! Urban Area !! Metropolitan Area |- ! 1695 | 43,000 |- ! 1750 | 48,000 |- ! 1790 | 52,863 |- ! 1801 | 50,171 |- ! 1831 | 59,630 |- ! 1851 | 95,277 |- ! 1872 | 126,936 |- ! 1911 | 149,000 |- ! 1936 | 213,220 |- ! 1946 | 264,411 |- ! 1954 | 268,865 |- ! 1962 | 329,044 |- ! 1968 | 439,764 || 474,000 |- ! 1975 | 509,939 || 585,000 |- ! 1982 | 541,271 || 645,000 |- ! 1990 | 650,336 || 797,373 |- ! 1999 | 761,090 || 964,797 |- ! 2004
(estimate) | 844,910 || between 1,065,000
and 1,080,000 |}
When a city name is given in Occit, as here, I assume that I should deduce that it is a region speaking Occit or some descendant thereof ? (I'm entirely unfamiliar with Toulouse, so I wouldn't know that otherwise.) ----- Occitan is spoken in Toulouse and the Midi region generally, but only as a secondary language. What's the general opinion on the SUMMARY and DETAIL sections of Toulouse's history? Personally I think it's a bit unnecessary, and would like to fold the SUMMARY text into an expanded DETAIL section. Thoughts? User:Nightsky ----- I wrote the Antiquity section of the article. Realizing it was quite long, I thought it would be best to offer a summarized presentation of Toulouse's history for people who do not have the time or desire to read all the nitty-gritties of that history. I will soon add an Early Middle Age section, and a Late Middle Age to Present section that will be as detailed as the Antiquity section. Perhaps the best would be to do like what the folks did in the New York City article. They left only a summarized version of the history of the city, and put a link to a History of New York article. That way we wouldn't be overloading the Toulouse article. But I suggest we wait for the Early Middle Age section and the Late Middle Age to Present section to be completed before we create a specific History of Toulouse article. I will finish them and add them as soon as my time allows. User:Hardouin 11:05, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) ----- Sounds good. Thanks for the marvelously informative "Antiquity" section! User:Nightsky 15:52, Jun 2, 2004 (UTC) I have finally been able to continue the history of Toulouse, I have been as far as year 1000, but I still need to cover from year 1000 to 2004. It is incredibly time consuming, as the history of the city is very complex, and local history is always badly documented (unlike national history), so it is hard to find good and reliable sources. Anyway, I have created a new article titled History of Toulouse, as I had previously suggested, and I sent everything there, leaving only a brief historical sketch in the main Toulouse article. In the article about the history of Toulouse I have reorganized the chapters into a more detailed lay-out. As soon as time allows I will finish the chapter about the County of Toulouse, and write the chapters regarding the period after 1271, which should be easier since Toulouse was then only a provincial city of France, and no more an independent place subject to the complexity of the European political chessboard. I hope everybody enjoy. User:Hardouin 22:20, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC) ----- Not to deny Baudis' achievements, but it seems to me that much of the "Local Politics" content would fit better in the "History of Toulouse" page. What do you all think? User:Nightsky 04:21, Aug 26, 2004 (UTC) :The History of Toulouse article is far from being finished. Currently it stops at the year 1000. Events after 1000 are just briefly discussed, and it will need considerable rewriting, so let's wait. Whatsoever, I am not sure it is a good idea to bury the Baudis years in the depth of the History article... After all what's most interesting to the understanding of current political events is what happened in the recent years, and that information should be readily accessible in the Toulouse article itself. Last but not least, is that recent an history really History? User:Hardouin 12:43, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC) ----- At the "Colleges and universities" section of the article it has a link to Arsenal. I was wondering whether that was meant to be there. If there is a university called Arsenal, should the link not be to Arsenal_(univeristy) or something similar? --User:Glvfgz 09:35, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC) :Corrected that. L'arsenal is just the name of the largest building of Universit Toulouse I. User:Hardouin 00:29, 11 May 2005 (UTC)
Cities, towns and villages in France Communes of Haute-Garonne
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Toulouse:
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse,_France
Toulouse-Lautrec
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Toulouse_Football_Club
Toulouse_infobox
Toulouse_Lautrec
Toulouse_Sciences_University
Toulouse_Street
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Toulouse
Toulouse (pronounced in standard French language, in local Toulouse accent) (Occitan language: ''Tolosa'', pronounced ) is a commune of France in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With close to 1.1 million inhabitants in 2005, the Toulouse metropolitan area is the second largest in southern France and one of the fastest growing in Europe. It is the home base of the European aerospace industry, such as Alcatel Espace and EADS Space, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus. Toulouse was the capital of the former Provinces of France of Languedoc (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution). It is the capital of the Midi-Pyrnes ''Rgion in France'', the largest ''rgion'' in France although it encompasses only half of the former Languedoc province. It is also the ''prfecture'' (capital) of the Haute-Garonne ''dpartement''. It is the seat of the Acadmie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitania. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-founded Midi-Pyrnes ''rgion''.
==Population== The population of the city proper (French: ''Commune of France'') was 390,350 (as of the 1999 census), with 964,797 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (French: ''aire urbaine'') (as of 1999 census). As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city proper reached 426,700 inhabitants, which means a record 1.8% population growth per year between 1999 and 2004 for the city proper. Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France, after Paris, Marseille and Lyon. In 1999 Toulouse was the fifth largest metropolitan area in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille. Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, record population growth of 1.5% a year in the metropolitan area (compared with a sluggish 0.37% for France as a whole) means Toulouse metropolitan area hit the 1,000,000 inhabitants mark in 2002 or 2003. Boasting the highest population growth of any European city of that size, Toulouse is well on its way to overtake Lille as the fourth largest metropolitan area of France. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" |+ Historical Population ! !! Urban Area !! Metropolitan Area |- ! 1695 | 43,000 |- ! 1750 | 48,000 |- ! 1790 | 52,863 |- ! 1801 | 50,171 |- ! 1831 | 59,630 |- ! 1851 | 95,277 |- ! 1872 | 126,936 |- ! 1911 | 149,000 |- ! 1936 | 213,220 |- ! 1946 | 264,411 |- ! 1954 | 268,865 |- ! 1962 | 329,044 |- ! 1968 | 439,764 || 474,000 |- ! 1975 | 509,939 || 585,000 |- ! 1982 | 541,271 || 645,000 |- ! 1990 | 650,336 || 797,373 |- ! 1999 | 761,090 || 964,797 |- ! 2004
(estimate) | 844,910 || between 1,065,000
and 1,080,000 |}
Note:
* figures provided by French national statistics office INSEE
* figures up to and including 1954 can be compared with each other, as the limits of the urban area did not change until 1954, being only the city of Toulouse; after 1954 the urban area starts to include suburban communes, and the limits vary year after year
* INSEE started calculating aire urbaine data only in 1990, a metropolitan area being different from an urban area in that it also includes satellite towns and the agricultural land in between, thus better reflecting the modern-day phenomenon of commutes and hubs; metropolitan area data before 1990 are only estimates
==Government and politics==
===City of Toulouse===
The new mayor of Toulouse since May 6, 2004 is Jean-Luc Moudenc (center-right, member of the Union for a Popular Movement party), who succeeded Philippe Douste-Blazy, appointed minister of Health in the French government on March 31, 2004. Philippe Douste-Blazy remains president of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse.
===Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse===
''Main article: Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse''
The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse (''Communaut d'agglomration du Grand Toulouse'') was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It succeeds a previous district which had been created in 1992 with less powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent ''communes'', covering an area of 380 km² (147 sq. miles), totaling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in the city of Toulouse proper. As of February 2004 estimate, the total population of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse was 651,209 inhabitants, 65.5% of whom live in the city of Toulouse. Due to local political feuds, the Community of Agglomeration only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in.
===Local politics===
The major political figure in Toulouse is Dominique Baudis, the charismatic mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of center-right Union for French Democracy. First known as a journalist famous for his coverage of the war in Lebanon, 36 year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father Pierre Baudis in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.) The Baudis dynasty succeeded in turning Toulouse into a center-right stronghold, whereas historically the city was leaning to the left since the 19th century. Dominique Baudis is also known as a writer who wrote historical novels about the ancient counts of Toulouse, their crusade in the Middle East, and the Albigensian Crusade.
During his time as mayor, Toulouse's economy and population boomed. Baudis' policies were deliberately moderate, and he always tried to accommodate (opponents would say anesthetize) the left. He tried to strengthen the international role of Toulouse (such as its Airbus operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc and symbol of the counts of Toulouse, was chosen as the new flag of the city, instead of the traditional coat of arms of Toulouse (which included the fleur de lis of the French monarchy). Many cultural institutions were created, in order to attract foreign expatriates and emphasize the city's past. For example, monuments dating from the time of the History of Toulouse were restored, the city's symphonic concert hall (''Halle aux Grains'') was refurbished, a city theater was built, a Museum of Modern Art was founded, the Bemberg Foundation (European paintings and Bronze sculpture from the Renaissance to the 20th century) was established, a huge pop music concert venue (''Znith'', the largest in France outside Paris) was built, the space museum and educational park ''Cit de l'Espace'' was founded, etc.
To deal with growth, major housing and transportation projects were launched. Perhaps the one for which Baudis is most famous is the subway of Toulouse: line A of the subway was opened in 1993, and Baudis succeeded in having work started on line B (scheduled to open in 2006), despite strong local opposition to the anticipated costs. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in downtown Toulouse was sharply criticized by the Les Verts, although it certainly fulfilled the demands of downtown Toulouse store and shop owners, and makes life easier for people who cannot use public transportation to go downtown. Today, even opponents cannot deny that the face of Toulouse has completely changed in the space of 20 years.
Despite all these massive undertakings, the city's economy proved so strong that Dominique Baudis was able to announce, in 1999, that the city had finished repaying its debt, making it the only large city in France ever to achieve solvency. In Europe, typical per capita city debt for a city the size of Toulouse is around 1,200 euros (US $1,550). Achieving solvency was a long-standing goal for Baudis, who had said that he would extinguish city debt before leaving office. Local opposition, however, has criticized this achievement, saying that the task of governments is not to run zero-deficit, but to ensure the well-being of citizens, through social benefits, housing programs for poor people, etc. Despite the controversy, what remains certain is that the city has decreased local taxes in the recent years, due to the end of the burden of the debt, and Toulouse has one of the lowest level of taxation in Europe.
In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%. To everyone's astonishment, he announced that he would not run for a fourth (6-year) term in 2001. He explained that with 3 terms he was already the longest-serving mayor of Toulouse since the French Revolution; he felt that change would be good for the city, and that the number of terms should be limited. He endorsed Philippe Douste-Blazy, then Union for French Democracy mayor of Lourdes as his successor. Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA (''Conseil Suprieur de l'Audiovisuel'') in Paris, the French equivalent of the American Federal Communications Commission.
Not as charismatic or well-know as Dominique Baudis, Philippe Douste-Blazy narrowly won in the 2001 elections, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Douste-Blazy has had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF plant in late 2001. Harboring national ambitions, unlike Baudis who always refused to become a national figure and preferred to focus on Toulouse, Douste-Blazy was often perceived as using Toulouse only as a springboard to launch his national political career in Paris.
Indeed, in March 2004 he entered the national government, and left Toulouse in the hands of his second-in-command Jean-Luc Moudenc, elected mayor by the municipal council. (Douste-Blazy remains president of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse.) Jean-Luc Moudenc, however, does not command authority over his majority the way that Dominique Baudis did. Members of the majority fear that Toulouse could well elect a mayor from the left at the next (2007) election, and the figure of Baudis is largely missed. Indeed, his shadow still looms large over city hall, and many an insider murmurs that Baudis, who is still closely following local political events from Paris, will make his grand return to Toulouse in 2007.
==Geography==
Toulouse is located on the banks of the Garonne and the Canal du Midi.
==History==
''Main article: History of Toulouse. See also: Counts of Toulouse''
Once a major metropolis of western Europe, Toulouse sank into a sleepy regional-level status in the 18th and 19th centuries, completely missing the Industrial Revolution. In the 20th century, relocation of key military and aerospace industries in Toulouse by the French central government have awakened the city again. In an ironic twist of history, what was once a big liability for Toulouse has now become its best asset: no Industrial Revolution meant a falling economic status for the city, but it has spared Toulouse the environmental damages and painful socio-economic restructuring that are plaguing so many northern European industrial cities.
Benefiting from its status as Europe's capital of aerospace industry, as well as from the flow of population from the industrial belt to the sunbelt of Europe, Toulouse metropolitan area doubled its population between 1960 and 2000 (in the meantime the population of France increased only by 30%). With good prospects for aerospace and biotech industries, growth is likely to continue in the near future. Toulouse is thus recovering step by step its former rank as a major European metropolis, but it faces increasing challenges: how to accommodate such a rapid growth, how to upgrade transport and develop housing and infrastructures, in short how to reinvent the city in the 21st century.
==Economy==
The main industries are aeronautics, space, electronics, information technology and biotechnology. Toulouse hosts one of the two main factories of Airbus, the other one being in Hamburg, Germany.
==Colleges and universities==
The University of Toulouse (''Université de Toulouse''), established in 1230, is located here (now split into three separate universities). Toulouse is the second largest university campus of France after Paris, with more than 110,000 students attending its three universities (Universit Toulouse I, Universit de Toulouse - Le Mirail (Toulouse II), Universit Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III)) and its engineering schools (INSA Toulouse, SUPAERO, ENSICA, ENAC, ENSEEIHT, INPT, ...)
==Transportation==
In addition to an extensive bus system, Toulouse has a modern metro system. The VAL (Vhicule Automatique Lger) metro system is made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tired underground trams. The existing line A runs for 12.5km. It was recently extended and now runs from Balma-Gramont to Basso Cambo. The new line B is planned to open in 2006 will add 20 stations and will intersect line A at Jean Jaurs. (see List of Toulouse metro stations)
==Culture==
Toulouse, known as the ''Ville Rose'' ("Pink City") for its distinctive brick architecture, is host to a rich and diverse culture. It has a thriving scene of unusually beautiful graffiti, with the painter Miss Van at its forefront. In sports, it boasts a respected rugby union team, ''Stade Toulousain'', which has been a three-time finalist and two-time winner in Europe's top club competition in the sport, the Heineken Cup.
Toulouse was the home of Antoine de Saint-Exupry (1900-1944), most famous for his book ''Le Petit Prince'' (The Little Prince). There is a permanent gallery with numerous photos, and some of his works, located in the ''Hotel du Grand Balcon'' - just off the ''Place du Capitole'' - where he stayed. (The bohemian painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, lived in Paris and shared only his name with Toulouse).
The city's gastronomic specialties include ''saucisses de Toulouse'', a type of sausage; and ''cassoulet'', a bean and pork stew.
==See also==
* Toulouse FC
* 138 Tolosa
==External links==
*[http://www.mairie-toulouse.fr/ANGLAIS/Accueil_En.htm Official website of the city hall of Toulouse] - In English
*[http://www.grandtoulouse.org official Website of the Greater Toulouse Council] - In French only
*[http://www.ot-toulouse.fr/english/index.lasso Toulouse Tourist Office] - In English
*[http://www.fondation-bemberg.fr website of the Bemberg Foundation] - In English
*[http://www.amb-usa.fr/toulouse/default.htm Website of the US Consulate in Toulouse] - In English
*[http://www.flylc.com/to/en/ap-tls.htm Cheap flights to Toulouse airport] - In English
*[http://www.toulouse.aeroport.fr/US/default.asp?lgue=2 Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport] - In English
*[http://france-for-visitors.com/languedoc/toulouse/index.html Visiting Toulouse] - In English
*[http://www.stadetoulousain.fr Website of famous Toulouse rugby club: Stade Toulousain] - In French only
*[http://perso.club-internet.fr/johnmell Website of the English speaking church in Toulouse] - In English
*[http://www.intst.net/home/index.asp Website of the Internation School of Toulouse] - In English, school for children of expats
*[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/british-section British section of the Victor Hugo International Secondary School] - In English
Communes of Haute-Garonne
Toulouse
Cities in France
Toulouse
When a city name is given in Occit, as here, I assume that I should deduce that it is a region speaking Occit or some descendant thereof ? (I'm entirely unfamiliar with Toulouse, so I wouldn't know that otherwise.) ----- Occitan is spoken in Toulouse and the Midi region generally, but only as a secondary language. What's the general opinion on the SUMMARY and DETAIL sections of Toulouse's history? Personally I think it's a bit unnecessary, and would like to fold the SUMMARY text into an expanded DETAIL section. Thoughts? User:Nightsky ----- I wrote the Antiquity section of the article. Realizing it was quite long, I thought it would be best to offer a summarized presentation of Toulouse's history for people who do not have the time or desire to read all the nitty-gritties of that history. I will soon add an Early Middle Age section, and a Late Middle Age to Present section that will be as detailed as the Antiquity section. Perhaps the best would be to do like what the folks did in the New York City article. They left only a summarized version of the history of the city, and put a link to a History of New York article. That way we wouldn't be overloading the Toulouse article. But I suggest we wait for the Early Middle Age section and the Late Middle Age to Present section to be completed before we create a specific History of Toulouse article. I will finish them and add them as soon as my time allows. User:Hardouin 11:05, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) ----- Sounds good. Thanks for the marvelously informative "Antiquity" section! User:Nightsky 15:52, Jun 2, 2004 (UTC) I have finally been able to continue the history of Toulouse, I have been as far as year 1000, but I still need to cover from year 1000 to 2004. It is incredibly time consuming, as the history of the city is very complex, and local history is always badly documented (unlike national history), so it is hard to find good and reliable sources. Anyway, I have created a new article titled History of Toulouse, as I had previously suggested, and I sent everything there, leaving only a brief historical sketch in the main Toulouse article. In the article about the history of Toulouse I have reorganized the chapters into a more detailed lay-out. As soon as time allows I will finish the chapter about the County of Toulouse, and write the chapters regarding the period after 1271, which should be easier since Toulouse was then only a provincial city of France, and no more an independent place subject to the complexity of the European political chessboard. I hope everybody enjoy. User:Hardouin 22:20, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC) ----- Not to deny Baudis' achievements, but it seems to me that much of the "Local Politics" content would fit better in the "History of Toulouse" page. What do you all think? User:Nightsky 04:21, Aug 26, 2004 (UTC) :The History of Toulouse article is far from being finished. Currently it stops at the year 1000. Events after 1000 are just briefly discussed, and it will need considerable rewriting, so let's wait. Whatsoever, I am not sure it is a good idea to bury the Baudis years in the depth of the History article... After all what's most interesting to the understanding of current political events is what happened in the recent years, and that information should be readily accessible in the Toulouse article itself. Last but not least, is that recent an history really History? User:Hardouin 12:43, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC) ----- At the "Colleges and universities" section of the article it has a link to Arsenal. I was wondering whether that was meant to be there. If there is a university called Arsenal, should the link not be to Arsenal_(univeristy) or something similar? --User:Glvfgz 09:35, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC) :Corrected that. L'arsenal is just the name of the largest building of Universit Toulouse I. User:Hardouin 00:29, 11 May 2005 (UTC)
Toulouse
Cities, towns and villages in France Communes of Haute-Garonne
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Toulouse
Toulouse
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